ASSIST

Liquid handling specialists, INTEGRA have produced a poster that provides informative guidelines to enable any lab that has access to a microbalance, to perform a quick routine check that offers many of the benefits of an annual pipette calibration. The described protocol checks pipette functionality and provides a solid indication of its actual performance. It is not a substitute for an annual calibration performed by a specialized calibration laboratory but does allow you to assure your pipetting quality throughout the year.

Pipetting serial dilutions reproducibly can be difficult because it is a time consuming and consequently error prone methodology, especially in 384 well plates. Based upon the assumption that your pipettes are properly maintained and calibrated, the human influence has the largest impact on pipetting results. Observing good pipetting practice helps immensely to improve reproducibility and accuracy. This application note provides an overview of a selection of good pipetting techniques, which if maintained offer the best chance of increasing and maintaining the reproducibility of your serial dilutions. Mixing is a key component of dilution protocols and in this article we additionally discuss different mixing parameters to help you achieve a homogenous sample. To maximize consistency of dilution assays, automating the process offers many benefits.

Likarda LLC, a contract research organization, works with clients at the early stages of drug development and discovery. Dr Lisa Stehno-Bittel, President & Co-founder of Likarda, discusses how the company develops 3D cell clusters, which are indicative of native tissues in the body, for use in cell-based assays. Hear from research scientist Stephen Harrington PhD, Likarda’s Director of Production, how the team has utilized automation to increase throughput and reproducibility, most recently employing the Integra Assist to bridge the gap between manual bench work and complete automation.

In this video learn how the VIAFLO ASSIST automatically performs the protocol of an attached VIAFLO II electronic pipette. The device ensures that the pipetting parameters are always the same, resulting in increased reproducibility and better results.

Watch this video for a comparison of generic pipette tips, which can suffer from high tip attachment and ejection force, leading to inconsistencies, and INTEGRA GripTips, which provide a precise and consistent tip seal through the unique, integrated system that offers the securest pipette tip connection. Without hammering, the GripTips literally snap onto the pipette’s tip fitting, which prevents tips from falling off.

VIAFLO ASSIST together with INTEGRA’s VIAFLO II electronic pipettes form the perfect symbiosis to prevent users from RSI and to increase the reproducibility of prolonged pipetting protocols such as serial dilutions, plate filling and reagent addition significantly.